Block #268,879

2CCLength 9★☆☆☆☆

Cunningham Chain of the Second Kind · Discovered 11/22/2013, 12:53:21 PM · Difficulty 9.9561 · 6,520,999 confirmations

2CC
Cunningham Chain of the Second Kind

A sequence where each prime is double the previous prime minus one.

Block Header
Block Hash
29d15f7953cad3893d4926ffed4a603ba1cef409a0a35996589706df8e8ff2aa

Height

#268,879

Difficulty

9.956095

Transactions

7

Size

6.90 KB

Version

2

Bits

09f4c2a2

Nonce

4,845

Timestamp

11/22/2013, 12:53:21 PM

Confirmations

6,520,999

Merkle Root

3e5a5ba9be684bdba703f3f456e76828ae351dc1248311610107e0e54a338bb3
Prime Chain Origin

This is the prime chain origin stored in the block header. It is a composite number (not prime itself) — it equals the first prime in the chain multiplied by a primorial. The origin anchors the entire chain to this specific block.

2.041 × 10¹⁰³(104-digit number)
20413622517014146536…25185951126394863201
Discovered Prime Numbers
p_k = 2^k × origin + 1

These are the actual prime numbers discovered by this block, computed using the verified Primecoin formula. Each number has been independently confirmed to pass the Fermat primality test. Use the FactorDB links to verify any number independently.

1
origin + 1
2.041 × 10¹⁰³(104-digit number)
20413622517014146536…25185951126394863201
Verify on FactorDB ↗Wolfram Alpha ↗
×2−1 →
2
2^1 × origin + 1
4.082 × 10¹⁰³(104-digit number)
40827245034028293072…50371902252789726401
Verify on FactorDB ↗Wolfram Alpha ↗
×2−1 →
3
2^2 × origin + 1
8.165 × 10¹⁰³(104-digit number)
81654490068056586145…00743804505579452801
Verify on FactorDB ↗Wolfram Alpha ↗
×2−1 →
4
2^3 × origin + 1
1.633 × 10¹⁰⁴(105-digit number)
16330898013611317229…01487609011158905601
Verify on FactorDB ↗Wolfram Alpha ↗
×2−1 →
5
2^4 × origin + 1
3.266 × 10¹⁰⁴(105-digit number)
32661796027222634458…02975218022317811201
Verify on FactorDB ↗Wolfram Alpha ↗
×2−1 →
6
2^5 × origin + 1
6.532 × 10¹⁰⁴(105-digit number)
65323592054445268916…05950436044635622401
Verify on FactorDB ↗Wolfram Alpha ↗
×2−1 →
7
2^6 × origin + 1
1.306 × 10¹⁰⁵(106-digit number)
13064718410889053783…11900872089271244801
Verify on FactorDB ↗Wolfram Alpha ↗
×2−1 →
8
2^7 × origin + 1
2.612 × 10¹⁰⁵(106-digit number)
26129436821778107566…23801744178542489601
Verify on FactorDB ↗Wolfram Alpha ↗
×2−1 →
9
2^8 × origin + 1
5.225 × 10¹⁰⁵(106-digit number)
52258873643556215132…47603488357084979201
Verify on FactorDB ↗Wolfram Alpha ↗

What this block proved

The miner who found this block proved the existence of 9 consecutive prime numbers forming a Cunningham Chain of the Second Kind. The prime chain origin — the large number shown above — anchors the chain and is divisible by a primorial (the product of small primes), cryptographically tying these prime numbers to this specific block.

★☆☆☆☆
Rarity
CommonChain length 9

Found in most blocks. The baseline for Primecoin's proof-of-work.

How Primecoin's Proof-of-Work Constructs These Primes

Primecoin stores a value called the prime chain origin in each block. The miner found a large integer such that when divided by a primorial (the product of small primes: 2 × 3 × 5 × 7 × …), the result is the first prime in the chain. The origin is deliberately divisible by this primorial — that divisibility is part of the proof.

Prime Chain Origin = First Prime × Primorial (2·3·5·7·11·…)
Source: Primecoin prime.cpp — CheckPrimeProofOfWork()

This is why the origin has many small prime factors — those factors are the primorial divisor. The chain then extends from the first prime using the 2CC formula:

2CC: p₁ (first prime), p₂ = 2p₁ − 1, p₃ = 2p₂ − 1, …
Circulating Supply:57,562,998 XPM·at block #6,789,877 · updates every 60s